Some people just don’t like commercial gyms. This is understandable since most commercial gyms suck really bad. A home gym offers serious advantages. Number one is, of course, the fact that you save a lot of time. You don’t have to travel 2 hours and wait for the sweaty chemists to finally give you a chance to use the equipment.
What equipment does a home gym need to be effective? It depends on the exercises that you want to perform.
1.Bodyweight focus
If you want to focus on bodyweight exercises, all you need is a pull-up bar and a dip station. Alternatively, you could simply use gymnastic rings for both exercises. The downside of this method is that your leg strength will remain low since bodyweight exercises become too easy. Even the so-called pistol squat is not a difficult movement in terms of strength. Therefore, you may consider buying dumbbells or kettlebells in order to perform weighted leg exercises.
2.Barbell focus
If you want to include basic barbell exercises in your routine, you need a stable power rack, a good Olympic bar, weights, collars and chalk.
The power rack can also be used for pull-ups/chin-ups/ring pull-ups and dips (depending on the model).
This is a complete home gym with minimal limitations. There are professional powerlifters such as Mike Tuchscherer who have developed most of their strength in similar garage gyms.
3.Kettlebell and dumbbell focus
Having a power rack in your house in nice, but it’s also expensive, and most people don’t have the required space. In that case, you could simply focus on kettlebells and dumbbells. At the end of the day, you can develop sick strength and mobility without ever touching a barbell. This may not be the most optimal approach, but it works.
Hey Truth Seeker, this is an interesting topic, would be nice if you adress more about home training. The poisonous mentality around mainstream bodybuilding pulls me away from the gym.
I have a power rack, however my barbell and plates are standard, not olympic, do you think I can achieve maximum hypertrophy potential (not strength) considering the barbell would not stand more than about 260 lbs of plates (also, the rack is in my bedroom in the second floor). I don’t care for big personal records and my frame is tall, pure ectomorphic.
Olympic barbells got expensive as fuck in Brazil due to the crossfit hype, buying one is not an option now.
Thank you for your site and last book!
Thank you for the support.
You can reach the potential of your upper body this way, but the lower may need heavier weights.
Still, you can go very far. However, make sure the equipment is sturdy enough to avoid problems.
Thank you for supporting me and the site. I wish you the best.